Yardbarker: Matt Leinart

Top 10 High Risk and High Reward Players

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:50:34 -0500

The top 10 of high risk and high reward players looks at players who have great potential this season but who have either had injury problems in the past or whose role could be reduced this year. Find out who made our list.

ESPYs Red Carpet Experience

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:17:07 -0500

Last Wednesday was the day that the ESPYs were filmed, and the entire day was SO hectic for me. I had to drive around with my broken navigation system to get my ESPY tickets from one hotel, then go over to my publicist's hotel to get the suit that I'd had custom-made. The suit was late, the valet at each place took a good half-hour, and traffic was insane, so my schedule was completely thrown off. On top of that, I was nervous about my first experience as a red carpet correspondent. I kept worrying that I would freeze up and choke, and all I could think was "What did I get myself into?" I finally arrived at the Nokia Theater to meet the Yardbarker folks just as the red carpet opened up. I was sweaty, nervous, and carrying a backpack - basically sort of a mess. On top of that, right as I got there and realized that I had forgotten my tickets for the show, I got stung by a bee. Just some icing on the cake. Even though things had gone wrong throughout the day, everything worked out great. It was really interesting to see the red carpet from the perspective of the media. Every outlet has their own designated space, but because I was so much bigger than the other reporters, they had to give me some extra elbow room to work with. It was funny, too, because everyone was so surprised to see me there with the media. They kept saying, "Who the hell gave YOU a microphone? Did you steal that?" I started off a little slow with the interviews, because I was late and didn't have a chance to prepare. All I was told was to be myself and try to work in some of the questions that had been written up for me. I was a little nervous, and for my first interview, I kept holding the microphone up to the wrong person's face while we were talking. After a while, though, I got the hang of it and just started chatting with the guys like it was before or after a game. Once we got talking, it would take me about 10 minutes to actually get to the questions. I was trying to be like Jay Leno or David Letterman and smoothly segue from the small talk to the questions, but I think I could still use a little work on that. Luckily, I wasn't the only one experiencing this for the first time. Hugh Hefner's girlfriend, Kendra, was there as a correspondent, too. When we found out that we were both doing this for the first time, we chatted for a little bit and exchanged interview tips. I'm sure it was all much easier for her, though. No matter what comes out of her mouth, she's got a pretty face and everyone will still want to talk to her. As for me, I need to be a little bit more verbally stimulating or my career as reporter will be over before it even starts. In the end, everything worked out great. The one thing that was disappointing was not making it in time to actually walk down the carpet myself, but I'm still glad I did this, because it was a lot of fun. The show afterward was amazing, too. It was definitely a SHOW, and Justin Timberlake did a great job hosting. He sang, danced, and really interacted with the audience. At one point he even sat on the floor next to Beckham, grabbed his leg, and sniffed him. And it was hilarious when he started making fun of TO for crying at a press conference. The whole place was dying laughing. Not sure if they were laughing with TO or at him, but Justin must've asked him permission ahead of time because I couldn't believe that he even went there. Another treat was watching one of my favorite artists, Lupe Fiasco, perform with a live band, but my absolute favorite part was the duet that Greg Oden did with Justin. It was funny to see Oden up there singing with Justin and playing the piano. Well, I hope you guys enjoy watching my interviews, because I really enjoyed doing them. I'll check in again with the Yard soon. Training camp starts Friday, and I'm excited for another season of football!

Interview: Extra Mustard's Jimmy Traina

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:14:28 -0500

“I don’t blog but I have the mentality of a blogger.“ Jimmy Traina gets bombarded with emails on a daily basis, all from bloggers hoping to get linked on Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks. When he’s not trimming down the list, the native New Yorker is hanging out with Erin Andrews and fulfilling lifelong fantasies like [...]

2008 NFL Quarterbacks Report

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:36:30 -0500

The Football Consigliere's takes and in depth look of the 2008 NFL Quarterback Class! Click on this link to go directly to The All American Touchdown Derby for a chance to win over $5,000 in Cash & Material Prizes all season long! www.passitdeep.com

Roy Williams is Welcome in my Fantasy League

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:52:42 -0500

Perhaps, you're not quite as bored or desperate as I am these days and you don't happen to waste 4 hours reading up on Fantasy Football or even worse participating in numerous Mock Drafts provided by ESPN.com. Regardless, as it should be said "it's an obsession, but it's pleasing." I've never been openly ashamed about affinity for Fantasy Football, nor my insistent pursuit to be the Buddha of Fantasy knowledge well in advance of the various drafts of which I participate in late August. Yes, it's still only July.

Moving on, I happened upon an Expert/Athlete Fantasy draft that took place with several NFL players and the ESPN.com Fantasy staff members. It's actually the main feature on their Fantasy Football page. What caught my attention of course was the much speculated Detroit Lions WR, Roy Williams. Yes, despite what the critics think…I still believe that Roy Williams might be the last great thing the Lions have going for them. And so, I'm not at all surprised they considered trading him this past off-season.

That said; Roy was one of the featured athletes in this Fantasy draft. Now, I've heard Roy Williams is quite the Fantasy Football connoisseur. However, sadly like our beloved Lions he happens to fall short in the Fantasy brain trust category in this draft. Let's take a quick gander at just how the pride of the Lions assembled what he believes to be a Championship caliber team.

He opened with Peyton Manning as the #3 overall pick in the draft, apparently not realizing that it is 2008 and not 2004. And he also must have missed reports about Peyton's ball sac that burst in his knee cap. Not that I don't feel as if Manning isn't going to have a typical dominant Fantasy season, but to go in the Top 3 might be a bit high. However, Manning will certainly never kill a Fantasy team and can very well be a steady hand that leads to a Championship.

Yet, Roy followed up his Manning pick with a huge blunder in the form of Willie Parker. Of note, is that Willie Parker scores less than the Brandon Funston or the Talented Mr. Roto combined and that's hardly a compliment for Mr. Parker. He simply had to select himself in the third round, which I'll hardly fault the dude for doing. However, it gets dicey in Round #4.

Dallas Clark…are you e'ffing kidding me? Um, that's nice Roy that you have a solid QB-TE tandem. However, I think you reached on that one. Next up he grabbed the Chargers defense in Round #5. Perhaps, a bit early for a defense, but at least he grabbed one of the more solid units in the league. And I sure can't fault "the Edge" as a 6th round semi-steal. A lot of people are sour on the Edge these days and I'm not sure why. He doesn't have a platoon to deal with and he's going to get the touches, plus one would have to think his team is remarkably improved…right?

Next up Roy snags who I happen to believe to be the Fantasy version of a one night stand, Lee Evans. It's great that night, but usually an awkward disaster the next morning. Lee Evans is great on paper when he's having a huge 10 catch day, but it's an eventual disaster, because you know you know you'll be embarrassed the following week. However, let's not fault Roy all that much as he does eventually grab Chris Chambers a few rounds later. I happen to like Chambers this year, just a hunch. (Like, not love).

I'll spare you the late round by round analysis. However, in the end the roster is stacked with three TE's, two defenses and two kickers. Roy is riding with Matt Leinart as his QB, which just reeks of disaster. He does manage to snag a potential bust-out candidate in Vernon Davis. However, isn't Davis a "bust-out" every year? Hmm, in the comments section of the draft, Williams bestows some praise or insult of Martz…I can't tell. Anyhow, looking up and down his roster…he'd be a welcome addition in any of my leagues.

We could use the free cash, plus we'd never have to worry about his cheap ass needing to tip the Commish.

AccuScore: How would teams fare with Favre?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:43:04 -0500

AccuScore's NFL simulator was used to analyze how much Brett Favre would help a variety of teams rumored to be possible destinations. The simulations do not expect Favre to have as much impact on other teams as one might expect simply because he would be joining a team just months before the start of the season. It obviously takes far more than eight weeks to master a new offense.

Arizona Cardinals Fantasy Depth Chart

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:01:14 -0500

There's no doubt that Larry Fitzgerald will be one of the first receivers drafted. See our draft tier ratings for the Cardinals offense in this fantasy depth chart summary

The Difference Between a QB1 and a QB2

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:31:31 -0500

To continue the fantasy definition series, we'll take a look at the divisions between fantasy quarterbacks. After nailing down the difference between running backs, understanding the definition of a QB1 versus a QB2 could make or break your fantasy team. Every winning fantasy team has at least one QB1 on the roster -- sometimes two. That's pretty much a given. We'll break down the quarterback position into QB1s and QB2s, but sadly, QB3s don't really exist except maybe in Canada or the arena league.

NFL Summer Police Blotter

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:47:51 -0500

Yes, for some players, the offseason is just too boring – so they try to liven it up, usually by getting arrested. For all those players making the kinds of headlines their mother's wouldn't be proud of, I've assembled the RotoHog F"ALL"en Pro Team. Here's a position by position breakdown of the pros who have been spotted on the police blotter this summer.

NFL Division Previews: NFC West

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:14:29 -0500

The NFL season is approaching quickly, and with that, EZB will be providing previews of each division in the league. Up today: the NFC West.

Fantasy Football Quarterbacks - Serviceable QBs

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:24:27 -0500

With training camp approaching, I figured what better time to take a look at the QBs around the league. We profiled the Big Dogs and Second Tier QBs, now it's time to look at the guys who you can plug and play when the matchups fit, use in deep leagues, make good backup QBs or second starter in 2 QB leagues, or guys to roll with if you waited until well into your draft to pick a QB. Serviceable QBs Matt Leinart/Kurt Warner - This one is tricky because Matt is the guy that will be given every chance to be the starter, but Warner (3417 yards, 27 TDs) was highly effective last year. With Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald as starters, either of these QBs are worth having. Problem is you may have to own both. Jake Delhomme - When you have a target like Steve Smith, you have potential. When you add D.J. Hackett and Muhsin Muhammad to mix, things get even more exciting. If his elbow holds up (and the rest of his body) he can easily make the leap to the Second Tier level (if not even the Big Dog level). Perhaps no QB has a wider spectrum between highs and lows. Vince Young - Entering his third season, VY has to start living up to the hype. He regressed last year, mainly because he didn't have any weapons to work with. Unfortunately, he still doesn't have the weapons to be a consistent fantasy starter, but I think he's a good enough football player that he'll show glimpses of greatness this year. Matt Schaub - There are things Schaub has going for him. It's his second year as a starter so everything shouldn't feel as new with him. He has one of the best targets to throw to in Andre Johnson (who will hopefully stay healthy this year). The reason he's not ranked higher, though, is because capable backup Sage Rosenfels is waiting in the wings. If he gets off to a slow start, the Texans won't hesitate to cook with Sage. Aaron Rodgers - This is mainly on potential than anything else. He's a starting QB (so long as Brett Favre doesn't butt his way in) of a team with great offensive weapons. He'll have to show he can handle the pressure of replacing a legend, which is a tall order. Additionally, he'll have to stay healthy. Jon Kitna - With Mike Martz bringing his pass-happy ways to San Francisco, Jon Kitna sees his value take a dip. He most likely won't be chucking the ball 40-50 times a game this year. If he doesn't get in as many attempts, all of the sudden he's just a mediocre fantasy QB. If the Lions' season goes sour, there's a good chance Drew Stanton can get a turn. I was high on Kitna last year, and this year I couldn't be more opposite.

Sleeper watch: Quarterbacks

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:17:08 -0500

I don't care what most say, the quarterback is the most important position in fantasy football. Now that most teams are going to a two runningback system the quarterbacks are king. With that said, here is a list of sleeper quarterbacks that could help your fantasy season. 1. Jake Delhomme, Panthers: In the first three games of the season last year, Delhomme had 8 touchdowns to one interception. When he is in the lineup not only is he productive, but Steve Smith is impossible to cover. If he can stay healthy he should throw for 28 touchdowns and 3,000+ yards. ... more ...

Predicting the Top 10 Quarterbacks Based on Historical Trends

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:44:08 -0500

Year after year there are surprises and disappointments in the NFL even though before the season starts many seem convinced that they can predict the top five or ten players at each position. Since 1999, it has never happened that the top three fantasy quarterbacks all remained in the top five the following season. Find out which of Brady, Manning and Romo we believe may not finish amongst the top five this upcoming season.

Lessons Learned at The NFL Rookie Symposium

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:33:40 -0500

So far it sounds like I would make a pretty good rookie in the NFL. Now only if I had the skills to get me there...

2008 QB Ranking Breakdown: 21 - 30

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:40:54 -0500

With football minicamps all ready here, Fantasy Football is on my mind. I've already started to break down each position, and over the next several weeks I'll share my rankings with all you. We'll start with the quarterback position, probably one of the weakest skilled positions this year.